Week Four began with a wild Thursday Night game, this as the Thursday Night games have usually been undercompetitive given the short turnaround time for the teams involved. The explosion ran through the rest of the week.
The Patriots were widely thought to be in serious trouble after two ugly losses to teams - Jacksonville and Detroit - they have otherwise owned. Against the Dolphins the Patriots got some key people back, cleaned up tackling issues, and got back to basics, especially on offense. As a result the Patriots annihilated the Dolphins 38-7 in a game where Ryan Tannehill's lack of natural quarterbacking ability became more graphically displayed.
Flying completely under the radar are the 3-1 Titans under new coach Mike Vrabel. Despite being down multiple starters to injuries Vrabel has coached the Titans to three straight wins. The return of Marcus Mariota despite a nerve issue in his throwing arm showed again as he led the comeback. He has now led comeback wins over the Saints, Lions, Colts twice (both 2017), the Chiefs twice, the Bengals, and now the Eagles.
That these aren't the same old Bengals showed in an enormously competitive game at Atlanta where a missed two-point conversion by the Falcons proved disastrous. Bad injury to TE Tyler Eifert put a damper on the win, and for the Falcons it's a case of looking for answers.
But the early candidate for Game Of The Year is the Raiders overtime thriller over the Browns as Derek Carr erased an eight-point gap in the final minute to force overtime, then withstood a Browns possession in overtime to lead the game-winning field goal drive. The 45-42 win was Jon Gruden's first as a coach since November 2008.
The Houston Texans' thriller of a win over the Indianapolis Colts won't take a backseat in terms of rip-roaring football competition. Andrew Luck erased a 28-10 Texans lead - shades of the Jack Pardee-era Houston Oilers - but after an exchange of field goals in overtime Frank Reich tried to convert 4th and 3 - he's gotten a lot of criticism for it but he was right - for the situation it was the move needed to win the game. The win was desperately needed for the Texans and may now get Deshaun Watson and company on a winning run.
The dynamic of the NFC North may be changing as Mitchell Trubisky and Matt Nagy may be establishing good longer-term rhythm, this at the expense of a Bucs team that was exploding in offense but which now looks in trouble with Ryan Fitzpatrick crashing to earth and Jameis Winston looking rusty or worse.
The AFC West may be the tightest division in the AFC as San Diego edged the Garoppolo-less 49ers. C.J Beatherd's rough effort to develop in the NFL continues to get rough.
So what to expect in Week Five?
Patriots over Colts - Andrew Luck has never done well in five career starts against the Patriots and New England is getting more key personnel back plus have gotten back to basics. Luck may make more of a game of this as his presence with the Colts clearly elevates that team. but expect the Patriots to take care of business.
Panthers over NY Giants - The Giants tried to build around Eli Manning and it isn't working. The Panthers keep winning and Cam Newton has won his last two starts vs the Giants.
Broncos over NY Jets - The Broncos are coming off the bitterest kind of loss (and making the taste in their mouths worse is they've now lost six straight to Kansas City) and get a Jets team that's lost three straight and where much-hyped Sam Darnold has fallen fast - five INTs to just four TDs so far and a 57% completion rate. Case Keenum has proven more than adequate for the Broncos and will certainly be doubly motivated to win this one.
Falcons over Steelers - The Falcons have been in a rut this season but are scoring like crazy. The Steelers have also scored a lot but their team is clearly dysfunctional with the Le'Veon Bell holdout and a larger culture not conducive to team rhythm - relying on talent and big egos in the long run will fall apart and this is happening now for Pittsburgh.
2012 was the last time the Titans visited the Bills and it was one of the most exciting games of that season
Titans over Bills - The Josh Allen era in Buffalo is off to a rough start at 1-3, four INTs to two TDs, and a completion percentage of only 53%. The Titans come in on a roll, expect them to pull off their fourth straight win.
Bengals over Dolphins - Ryan Tannehill's struggles as a quarterback are undeniable, but also undeniable is his ability to win; he just has a level of competitive muscle beyond which he can't go. The Bengals get him this week now leading the AFC North.
Packers over Lions - At 1-3 the Lions have yet to show improvement over the Jim Caldwell period, and they get a Packers team that's overrated but still 2-1-1.
Chiefs over Jaguars - The Chiefs come in after a big comeback at Denver. They won last time they faced the Jaguars (2016), but the caveat is that was pre-Tom Coughlin. Patrick Mahomes is the sensation of the league right now but then Blake Bortles is better than people want to give him credit for. This one may be tighter than expected.
Chargers over Raiders - Pick the home team and expect whatever the points over-under to be to get broken as both offenses (outside of San Diego's kicking game) are humming coming into this game.
Rams over Seahawks - The Seahawks have the same problem as the Steelers - a dysfunctional locker room culture overly dependent on talent and big egos instead of team-orientation. Homefield advantage is also long gone for Pete Carroll's gang.
Eagles over Vikings - The Eagles, smarting from the OT loss at Tennessee, get back to The Linc and get a faltering Vikings team; expect the Vikes to put up points anyway.
Niners over Cardinals - Two faltering teams; pick the home team here.
Texans over Cowboys - The Texans got back on track last week and get a Cowboys team that is 2-2 but has looked inconsistent as such.
Saints over Redskins - The Deadskins are a lot better off with Alex Smith than they ever were with Kirk Cousins but the Saints are rolling.
So it goes as we fly into Week Five.
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